CES 2015 – Qualcomm Says Wearables Are Key Focus, But Still Need More Work

Michael Moore joined TechWeek Europe in January 2014 as a trainee before graduating to Reporter later that year. He covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to mobile devices, wearable tech, the Internet of Things, and financial technology.

Wearables market is still in a period of ‘self-discovery’, says Qualcomm president Derek Aberle

Qualcomm’s president has laid out the company’s predictions concerning the wearable technology market – one it sees as still being very much in its infancy.

“It’s early days [for wearables], but it’s a sweet spot for Qualcomm,” Derek Aberle told media at the CES event in Las Vegas today.

The market for wearables remains some time away from reaching full maturity, Aberle said, mainly due to the sheer range of devices currently available to consumers.

However, Aberle said he expects to a far more diverse choice appearing over the coming years as manufacturers and developers uncover the market’s “sweet spot”.

“There’s not going to be one right choice for wearables,” said Aberle. “I think in the next few years we’ll see it consolidating, but it will take trial and error before we get there.”

Connected

Health-related wearables were singled out by Aberle (pictured left) as a key field for particularly strong growth, and predicted an explosion in number of medical apps over the coming years.

However Qualcomm, which currently powers more than 15 different wearable devices, including smartwatches, fitness trackers and VR headsets, will still provide significant support for the market, using what it has learned producing chips for mobile devices to bolster its position in the wearables market.

“[The wearable market] is very connected to smartphones, so this allows us to leverage our position in the smartphone space so we’ll have to see how we go forward in the future,” added Aberle.